


Tell Me A Secret

by ArgentLives



Series: live in gal pals [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/F, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 03:53:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4004851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentLives/pseuds/ArgentLives
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iris takes a trip to Starling City to interview the distinguished District Attorney Laurel Lance, but when she finds herself lost and cornered in a dark alleyway she ends up meeting her sooner than she expects. She's also totally got a thing for ass-kicking superheroes in leather. Laurel is all that and more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tell Me A Secret

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a little something I wrote based off the sentence prompt "tell me a secret," and I wanted to post it here because this is honestly, like, my favorite ship.

The first time Iris met Laurel Lance, she hadn’t even know it was Laurel Lance she was meeting. Which was funny, really, considering the whole reason behind her making the trek there in the first place was to interview Starling City’s hot, new, up and coming District Attorney, to get a firsthand scoop for her article about the big case she’d just won causing ripples throughout the community. 

She was supposed to come and stay the night at Felicity’s, who had told her she didn’t only know Lance firsthand but was also friends with the woman behind the name, and could introduce her the next day. She couldn’t believe her luck—an interview was exactly what she needed to make her article complete. And in the meantime, she’d been looking forward to getting caught up with Felicity, to staying up and chatting and maybe relaxing with a glass of wine or two.

She was  _supposed_ to do all that. She’d had planned it all out perfectly. As usual, of course, things hadn’t exactly gone according to plan.

She had gotten lost, had taken a wrong turn somewhere along the road in the directions that Felicity had given her to get to her house, and by the time she’d realized it she’d run out of gas in the middle of a place called the Glades. At least, that’s what the guy who’d dragged her into a dark alley with a knife to her throat as she’d been looking for someone to ask for help had called it.

She’d gotten a few good elbows in the chest in, and she’d almost escaped when she’d stepped on his foot, getting him to loosen his hold long enough to turn around and punch him hard in the face, but she hadn’t realized he’d had a partner who’d followed them and subsequently cornered her. Still, even though she’d been breathless with fear and overwhelmed with panic, she’d been poised and ready to fight till the bitter end. 

And then she’d come out of nowhere—a blonde woman in a mask, dressed all in black.

“Go!” the woman had shouted, easily knocking out the guy who had been blocking Iris’s way and motioning towards the now clear path out of the alley. Iris had barely made it five steps away before she turned back around to watch the woman fight.

It had been extremely refreshing to watch her overpower the man who’d been harassing her in a matter of seconds, deftly kicking him in the crotch and then flipping him so he landed hard on his back, immobilized. She stood over him for a few moments, smiling to herself as she nudged him with her foot, when she’d realized Iris was still standing not far away. She hadn’t even been breathing heavily, as though she’d barely exerted any effort.

“I thought I told you to go?” the woman demanded, flipping her hair out of her face before making to leave. Iris had been struck by how much she looked like a straight-up supermodel right after fighting. Like she wasn’t even phased.

“Wait!” Iris shouted before she could get too far away. She watched as the woman stopped, hesitated, before turning back around. It was dark, but under the dim lights from the buildings overhead Iris was able to get a decent view of her face, her  _ridiculously good-looking_ face, and she could see the woman raise an eyebrow at her in question.

“I…uh…I’m lost. Could you…could you help me get to my friend’s house? My car is out of gas, too, so…”

Iris hadn’t known what to expect, and dully noted that she probably shouldn’t have been asking for directions from a strange woman in a mask who she’d just watched beat up two grown men with ease, but somehow she felt safe. The woman seemed to consider her request for a few moments before nodding slowly, motioning for Iris to follow her.

“Where do you need to go?” she asked, her voice oddly deep and distorted, and Iris wondered how she was doing it. Surely not the same way that Barry did?

“Uh, a friend’s house. Felicity Smoak…not that you know who that is, but her address is—”

“That’s not too far off,” she mused, cutting Iris off, and then cursed to herself for being so obvious. “I mean, I think I’ve heard that name before. Call her. I’ll just stay until she gets here, to make sure your safe.”

Iris nodded gratefully, pulling out her phone to call Felicity, exchanging a hurried conversation that mostly consisted of a lot of ‘oh my  _God_ , Iris,’ and ‘you’re  _where?_ ’ before her ride was on the way.

It was odd. The woman kept her face turned away from Iris now that they were in better light, and her back turned if she could help it. Which, all things considered, Iris wasn’t complaining. It gave her an excellent view her backside and her legs in those tight black leather pants and…and she really needed to get a grip. What was it with her and leather?

Felicity was there minutes—Iris was sure she must have been speeding. As she pulled up to the curb, before she could even turn around to say ‘thank you’ to the mysterious blonde woman, she was gone. Iris blinked in surprise, shaking off the shock as she climbed into the passenger seat of Felicity’s car. And what the hell was Felicity smiling at? Iris sat back and closed her eyes, nodding at Felicity’s concerned  _‘you okay?’_ and vowing to ask later.

It wasn’t until they were safely inside her house and when her heart had stopped racing, when the adrenaline had finally worn off, that later came. “Who  _was_  that?” Iris asked, watching Felicity carefully as the TV played some movie before them that Iris wasn’t paying attention to anyway.

“Hmm?” Felicity tore her eyes away from the TV to look at Iris in confusion. “That was his wife, the one who’s actually a double-agent and working behind his—”

“I’m not talking about the movie, Felicity,” Iris said, rolling her eyes. “I mean who was that, before? The woman who was there when you picked me up? She saved me earlier. And I know you saw her. I saw you smiling at her.”

“That was…uh, that was…The Black Canary,” Felicity coughed, averting her eyes.

“Oh, please. Don’t play dumb with me.” Iris narrowed her eyes. If Felicity knew who the Arrow was, if she  _worked_ with the Arrow, and was in cahoots with Barry and the crew at S.T.A.R. Labs, Iris didn’t doubt that she knew who this new masked vigilante was, too.  “You know what I mean.”

Felicity must have caught the look on her face, or maybe it was because Barry had told her about just how badly she’d reacted when she’d found she’d been lied to all that time, because she sighed and dropped the act almost immediately.

“Alright, fine—yes, I know who it was. But it’s not really my place to tell, Iris. I’m sorry. You don’t know her though, I promise, so it’s not like…” Felicity trailed off awkwardly, chewing on her bottom lip to prevent herself from saying anything more.

 _‘Not like Barry,’_  Iris finished the sentence for her in her head, knowing it was exactly what Felicity had been getting at. Even though she’d finally forgiven him, everyone knew it’s still a sensitive subject. In this case, though, she supposed that Felicity was right. She couldn’t hold much hard feelings over not being told if she didn’t even know the person.

“Alright, fair enough,” Iris grudgingly replied. If she wasn’t going to get any answers on that front, she might as well start getting down to business on another. “So, about you and Ray, then… _and_  about you and Oliver…”

Felicity groaned at Iris’s devious smirk. 

“Iris…”

“Spill.”

 

 

Felicity drove her to pick up her car and fill it up in the morning, and from there she followed her to the DA’s office. She watched Felicity drive off as she made her way into the precinct. It didn’t take long to find Lance’s office, and even though the door was slightly ajar, she knocked anyway.

At the clipped  _‘come in!’_  she received she pushed open the door and then gently closed it behind her, finally turning to face Lance. She was sitting up straight and with her hands folded on her desk, looking the perfect picture of authority. Iris instantly felt respect…and, although she couldn’t exactly say why, a bit of fear as well. Lance’s eyes followed her movements, sharp and calculating. She lookedstrangely toofierce to be sitting stationary behind a desk, like Iris half expected her to jump up and start kicking things.

Something about that thought stuck curiously in Iris’s mind, and it took her a moment to realize that Lance seemed familiar, somehow. Like she’d seen that face before, that same intensity somewhere else. She shook the feeling off and cleared her throat, trying her best to look confident.

“Hi, Ms. Lance? My name is Iris West. I’m a reporter for Central City Picture News, and Felicity Smoak is a friend of mine. She said she spoke to you about meeting with me regarding an interview for an article I’m writing…?”

“Of course,” Lance smiled at her, her rigid composure melting a bit at the name-drop. For someone so intimidating, it was surprisingly enough to put her at ease. “Sit down. And you can just call me Laurel, by the way.”

Iris returned her smile and took a seat across from her, the desk in between them, and got down to work. Even though they were both professionals and they were in a professional setting, and even though Laurel appeared intimidating at first, she was incredibly easy to talk to. And God, she was inspiring too, the work she was doing. Iris couldn’t help the growing admiration blossoming in her chest as she asked her question after question.

And then, without warning, somewhere down the line it hit her. It was the way she flipped her hair back when a strand of it fell in front of her face as she was laughing at something that Iris had said, the way the light hit her face at a certain angle and gave her a clear view of those super-model features, mask or not.

It took her a few more questions to build up the courage to ask, but once it was on her mind, it wouldn’t go away. She wondered whether Laurel had noticed her change in demeanor, because she was fairly sure she was being obvious about it. Because once she’d seen it, she couldn’t un-see it—Laurel with a blonde wig, Laurel underneath that mask, Laurel kicking ass, Laurel in those tight black leather pants and--and she was sure. Her heart was pounding in her chest with excitement as she scribbled down what Laurel had just said and prepared to ask the question that was weighing most on her mind. She lifted her head and refused to break eye contact as she spoke.

“So, Laurel. Tell me a secret.”

Laurel pursued her lips and smirked to herself. 

“Like what? I’ve got a lot of secrets.”

“Like the fact that you’re the Black Canary?”

Now it was Iris’s turn to smirk in satisfaction as she watched Laurel’s eyes go wide. Laurel leaned over her desk towards her, a sudden urgency in her eyes.

“How did you know that? Who told you?” she demanded, before pausing to narrow her eyes. “Oh, God, it was Felicity, wasn’t it? I’m going to have to have a talk with that girl.”

Iris laughed and shook her head, and then placed what she hoped would be reassuring hand on Laurel’s shoulder.

“Relax. Felicity didn’t tell me anything; I figured it out on my own. You know, that mask doesn’t really hide much. And if you’re going to wear a wig, you might want to choose one a little more different from your actual hair.” Laurel continued to stare at her suspiciously, so she elaborated. “You saved my life last night. I recognized you.” 

Laurel let out a long sigh and fell back in her chair. “Right. Of course. I should’ve known—you’re _that_ Iris, Barry’s friend. I should’ve been more careful--I heard you’re pretty good at figuring out secrets.”

Iris nodded smugly. “That I am. I also don’t like being lied to, so it kind of comes with that, I guess.”

“No,” Laurel said firmly, and Iris looked at her in surprise.

“What do you mean _‘no’_? ‘No’ I don’t like being lied to?” Was Laurel inferring that she  _enjoyed_  being lied to? Iris huffed. The  _nerve_.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Laurel said, giving her a sympathetic smile. “I just meant ‘no’ as in that’s not why you’re good at figuring things out. You’re a great investigative journalist; I’ve read some of your stuff. You know, since I last visited there I like to keep up with what’s going on in Central City, so I read the paper, sometimes.”

“Oh,” Iris blinked, a slow smile spreading across her face at the sincerity in Laurel’s voice. “Thanks, then. I appreciate you saying that—it means a lot.”

Before Laurel could respond, another thought suddenly occurred to her. “You know, I never really thanked you properly for saving my life last night.”

Laurel waved a hand in dismissal. “Ah, it was nothing, really. Besides, I saw you get some punches in. You seemed to be doing pretty well on your own.”

“It was though,” Iris insisted, “Something, I mean. Even if it wasn’t difficult for you to take those guys down, I still probably wouldn’t be sitting before you right now if you didn’t. I might be able to handle myself pretty well, but I still wouldn’t have been able to take them both on at once. Let me thank you over a cup of coffee—on me. Please?”

Laurel considered her offer before smiling at her, eager and warm. She nodded.

“Coffee sounds like a great idea to me. And,” she winked at Iris as she shrugged on her coat, “while we’re at it, we can discuss that excellent left-hook of yours.”


End file.
